Bali - Part One

First transmitted in 1956, David Attenborough's search for the legendary Komodo dragon reaches Bali, where he witnesses a procession in honour of an 'invisible god' and explores a temple that provides shelter to a colony of bats believed by the locals to be sacred.

Back in the studio, Attenborough meets a fruit bat that is a resident of London Zoo.

Sir David Attenborough - The Early Years

More about this programme

In 1969, David Attenborough returned to Bali to film a new series about the region. The Miracle of Bali looked at the religion, art, music and dance of the people of Peliatan village. One particular fan of the programme was composer Benjamin Britten, who had used sections of Balinese music in his score for the ballet 'The Prince of the Pagodas'.

About BBC Four Collection programmes

Programmes are selected, in part, for their historical context and reflect the broadcast standards and attitudes of their time, which may not accord to some current BBC editorial guidelines. We aim to select programmes which can be shown in their entirety but in some cases edits are required.